Y Combinator-backed Indian edtech firm raises $17.5m in series A round

Skill-Lync, an engineering-focused edtech startup based in India, has raised US$17.5 million in a series A round led by Iron Pillar, a venture growth investment firm that backs global technology companies established in India.

Skill-Lync co-founders Sarangarajan Iyengar (left) and Suryanarayanan P / Photo credit: Skill-Lync

Skill-Lync’s existing investors, Y Combinator and Better Capital, also participated in the latest funding round. Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, Xto10x co-founder Sai Krishnamurthy, and Sixteenth Street Capital founder Rashmi Kwatra were brought on as new investors in the round.

The Chennai-based startup will use the new capital to make more hires, step up the number of courses it offers, and expand to international markets.

Founded in 2018, the company provides job-oriented courses in mechanical, electrical, civil, and computer science engineering in countries like South Korea, Singapore, Japan, China, and India.

The edtech firm has collaborated with over 800 industry experts who have worked at industry giants such as Bosch, ABB, Samsung, and Accenture to create existing course content.

See also: Meet the players in the thriving edtech industry

“Skill-Lync will double down on developing corporate partnerships to understand future talent requirements, build in-house high-end engineering teams to offer excellent learning outcomes to our students,” said Skill-Lync co-founder Sarangarajan V Iyengar.

The major edtech players in the upskilling segment include upGrad and Great Learning, which was recently acquired by Indian edtech decacorn Byju’s for US$600 million.